Under the Weather
by EmeraldSands315
Summary: After getting caught in a blizzard, Drew comes down with a fever and is soon incapacitated. At least he has Gary to help him through this-even if he's a bit of a prick about it. ArroganceShipping, fluff/sickfic, rated for language.


**AN: First things first, anyone who uses the review section to "warn" me about anyone or otherwise drag me into petty schoolyard drama is getting blocked and reported. This account might be fairly new, but I've been a quiet observer for a long time and I know my way around. Also, while I'm not terribly opposed to concrit, I'd rather have it sent to me privately. Thanks.**

**Now that that's out of the way-a lightning bolt of inspiration struck me a few days ago and I decided, "Might as well run with this just to get it out of my head," so I did. Arrogance is not my main ship and I've never written for them before, but I wanted to give it a shot and I had fun with it.**

**Happy Pride Month, enjoy these gay nerds.**

* * *

"You are so lucky I ran into you." Gary's dark green eyes took Drew in with something resembling pity, making Drew more aware of what he already knew-he was a wet, shivering, snow-covered mess. The melting snow soaked him to the skin and dripped onto the floor.

He opened his mouth to argue, only to have to muffle a sneeze into his elbow. He looked at his sleeve in disgust. First he got caught in a snowstorm, and now this?

"See?" Gary took off his lab coat and draped it over Drew's shoulders. "It snows in Sinnoh, in case you hadn't noticed, a turtleneck and a light jacket aren't going to cut it when you're traveling. Sit down and let me make you some tea before you freeze to death."

Already irritable from cold and a pounding headache-most likely caused by the sudden temperature change between the frigid outdoors and the warm little cabin Gary had brought him to-Drew flipped him off before going to sit in the floor, back against the wall and knees drawn up to his chest.

"Hey now, what would your mothers think of that?" Gary quipped, clearly unoffended.

"My mothers aren't here and you're a dick," Drew said, tugging at the coat around his shoulders in a desperate attempt at getting any warmer.

Gary had the audacity to laugh. "Okay, fair," he said. "Umbreon, go warm him up, he's freezing over there."

Drew felt a warm body curl at his side and a wave of relief swept over him. He shifted his position so Gary's umbreon could climb onto his lap and he did so, leaning against Drew's chest. The dark-type didn't even flinch when Drew had to stifle another sneeze-and another, and another. He winced; sneezing had made his head hurt even more.

"Honey?" Gary called after a few minutes.

Drew blinked, startled. "What did you just call me?"

"I'm asking if you want honey in your tea, you stupid twink," Gary said. He sounded like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"_What_ did you just call me?" Drew's voice cracked, only increasing his embarrassment.

"A stupid twink," Gary repeated. "Do you want honey in your tea or not?"

Drew sighed. "Yes, please."

"Thought so. I've heard your coffee order, your sweet tooth is ridiculous." Gary walked over to Drew and handed him a cup, smirking. "Now, what do you say?"

Drew glared at him before saying, a little begrudgingly, "Thank you." He drank slowly and carefully, starting to relax as the warmth spread through his body. Finally, he stopped shivering.

Gary's steady hand pressed against Drew's forehead and despite himself, he felt a warm flutter in his chest.

"Good boy." For a second Drew thought Gary was addressing him, but he fortunately realized Gary was talking to Umbreon before he could embarrass himself again. "You can move now, let's get Shrub here into bed."

"_Excuse_ me?" The fluttering feeling was gone, replaced by sharp indignation.

"You have a fever," Gary said. "You're going to bed before it gets worse."

"Whatever, but did you just call me _Shrub?_"

"Yeah, what about it? Up." He stood and pulled Drew to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist. Drew made an undignified, choked squeaking sound-like a rattata being stepped on-and Gary looked at him in surprise. "What was that? Are you that ticklish?"

He couldn't have just ignored it. Embarrassed, Drew gave a small nod.

"That's precious, Shrub. I'm definitely taking advantage of it when you're not sick."

"Don't you dare," Drew said.

"Try and stop me," Gary challenged.

Just as Drew was about to retort, he was racked by a series of rough, deep coughs. When the coughing ceased, he was out of breath and trembling.

"That didn't sound good," Gary said, suddenly turning serious. "Bed. Now."

He led the way to a bedroom and nudged Drew onto the bed. "Get out of those wet clothes first-change into something of mine if you have to. We're all men here, but I'll give you your privacy." With that, he and Umbreon turned around and walked out, the door shutting behind them.

Drew poked around in Gary's closet for a bit before grabbing a black T-shirt. Then he started the slow and unpleasant undressing process-socks and shoes, Gary's lab coat, his own jacket, turtleneck, pants, and lastly, a solid minute of struggling out of the binder that-due to being wet-refused to move past his shoulder blades. Once that was finally off, he quickly threw on Gary's shirt and went under the covers.

There was a knock on the door and Gary's voice called, "You good?"

"Yeah, come in," Drew answered.

The door opened and Gary walked in, carrying a mug. "Fresh tea, disgustingly sweet how you like everything."

Drew accepted it. "Perfect. Thanks, Gary."

"Who the hell are you and what did you do with Drew?" Gary looked him over and touched his forehead. "You're so sick, Shrub. Please mouth off at me so I'll know you're going to live."

"You're so dramatic," Drew said. "And stop calling me Shrub."

"There he is," Gary said with a surprising warmth. He looked at the pile of clothes on the floor. "Hey, my old friend Ash used to have a binder just like that."

"Is that so?" Drew sipped his tea; he didn't care what Gary thought about his tastes, he liked it.

"Yeah, it sure is," Gary said. "You're supposed to hand-wash those things, right?"

Drew nodded.

"Alright, so I'll toss everything except that in the washing machine later and handle it separately. Sound good?"

"Sure." Drew muffled a yawn. He felt like he could sleep for a week.

"I saw that," Gary said. He took the mug out of Drew's hands and set it aside. "Get some sleep, Shrub."

Drew didn't have the energy to argue. He let himself sink under the covers, curling up on his side. He nodded off to the feeling of a gentle hand running through his hair.

* * *

Gary looked at the exhausted heap under the blankets and sighed. The shrub had nearly vanished under there, only the top of his head peeking out. Faint snoring emanated from beneath.

He was hot to the touch, which was a little worrying, but Gary wasn't going to tell him that; Shrub didn't need the stress. What was more worrying was how he'd suddenly gone from snarky and argumentative to completely docile.

"Umbreon, keep an eye on him." Umbreon nodded dutifully and Gary went to fetch a thermometer from… wherever he'd put it. This was the first time he'd actually needed it since he'd been here. The medicine cabinet in the bathroom was his best bet.

Sure enough, that was where he found it. He grabbed it along with three bottles of medicine that might or might not be useful-he would check the labels later-and went back to Drew.

Nothing had changed in the few minutes he had been gone. He pushed the covers out of the way so he could see Drew's face, brushed aside bangs that were damp with sweat and melted snow, and touched the thermometer to his forehead, earning a quiet moan and a feeble attempt at pushing it away.

101.5-not good news, but it could be worse.

What was the saying? Starve a cold, sweat a fever? So keeping him warm was probably the best option for now; the fever would eventually break if he could sweat it out.

Gary knew what he was doing. Hopefully.

* * *

Gary had just been handling the laundry when he heard unsteady footsteps. Drew had left the bedroom and now propped against a wall for support; in nothing but boxers and a borrowed T-shirt, face flushed with fever, he looked so vulnerable, but he was clearly too out of it to care.

Gary approached him. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Bathroom," he said hoarsely.

"Right over there." Gary pointed it out and Drew shambled that way.

Gary looked out a window. Snow was still coming down, swirling in the wind. Traveling in that would be a nightmare; if Gary couldn't get Drew well again, they were in serious trouble.

He hadn't even registered the sound of footsteps when Drew stumbled into him. He rushed to catch him, a little clumsily in his haste. "Okay, back to bed for you, Shrub. Let's try and get some medicine in you before you pass out."

* * *

Drew had no idea what Gary had given him, but the taste nearly made him gag. He forced himself to swallow, hard; it would be so much worse if it came back up.

"I know it's awful, but I swear it'll help." Gary handed Drew a glass of water and he drank like he hadn't seen water in days, desperate to clear that horrible taste from his mouth. Gary took the glass from him. "Easy there, are you trying to drown yourself? Because you're not dying on my watch." He handed it back. "Slowly."

Drew drained the glass more carefully, returning it to Gary and lying down. "Is that blizzard still happening?"

"Last I checked, yeah."

Drew groaned.

"Come on, it's not like you were going anywhere anyway," Gary pointed out. "You have a temperature of nearly a hundred and two and you can barely walk without help."

As much as Drew hated to admit it, Gary was right. He rolled over onto his hide and curled up, shivering. He was starting to regret that water; now on top of everything else, he was cold and his stomach hurt.

"You look absolutely freezing," Gary said. "Wanna cuddle? That might help."

"I can't believe you're flirting at a time like this," Drew said.

"I'm not flirting, it's a serious offer for your well-being." Gary's expression was, in fact, serious.

Drew decided he didn't even care. He was miserable and could do with any semblance of comfort. "Sure, fine, whatever."

He moved over to make some room and Gary joined him without a moment's hesitation, wrapping his arms around Drew's trembling body. Drew pressed his face against Gary's chest, only to immediately feel a sneeze coming on. It happened before he could make any attempt at moving to sneeze into something other than Gary's shirt.

"Okay, gross," Gary said.

Drew couldn't look him in the eye. "Sorry," he mumbled, mortified.

Gary shrugged. "Could be worse."

It absolutely could be, but Drew decided he'd rather not think about that.

* * *

Gary didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep until he woke up with his nose in Drew's hair. He could feel Drew's arms around him, which would've been nice if the shrub's entire body weren't soaked with sweat and radiating heat like a very handsome space heater.

Come to think of it, that was bad. Time to check his temperature again. Gary moved to get up and Drew stirred, whimpering in protest.

As gently as he could, Gary pushed him away. "Relax, you needy baby. I just need to take your temperature." He grabbed the thermometer and touched it to Drew's forehead. "Hold still."

102.3-higher than last time, but he wasn't going to let it show that the number scared him. He glanced at the clock. "Looks like it's time for more medicine. Can you sit up?"

"'Think so."

He struggled to get into a sitting position until Gary helped him. "Try to stay upright for a second, I can't do this one-handed." He carefully measured out the dose, keeping an eye on Drew as he did so. "I doubt you'll like this any more than last time, but you've gotta tough it out so you'll get better."

Despite being half-conscious and delirious with fever, Drew gave a stoic nod. "I can handle it."

Gary had to hold him up with an arm around his shoulders and bring the medicine to his lips, but he still took it like a champion-better than last time, only wincing slightly instead of gagging.

Gary patted him on the shoulder. "There you go. Now, can I get you anything? Food? Water? Another blanket? You're shivering again."

Drew shook his head.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Gary had to get this boy to _eat_ at some point.

Drew looked at him, eyes glazed over with fever. "I want you."

How was Gary supposed to cope with hearing _that?_ Probably by reminding himself Drew was too feverish to have any idea what he was saying. "Shrub, you're so delirious."

"More importantly, I'm cold," Drew replied.

Gary sighed affectionately. "You're a mess, you know that?"

"A _cold_ mess," Drew said pointedly.

"Okay, okay, I hear you." Gary settled back into bed, letting Drew snuggle into his chest. Him just _doing_ that was entirely too weird, too unlike him, and Gary couldn't wait until things were back to normal.

* * *

It was dark and cold. Drew strained his eyes to see, but he couldn't make out anything clear. He shuddered violently. Man, he was so _cold_. "Gary, am I dead?"

"No, you're not dead," Gary said from the other side of the room. "I've already told you you're not dying on my watch. The power just went out."

Oh. Drew shifted a little and landed in the floor with a dull _thud_. "Ow," he groaned.

Gary swore. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." He wasn't much worse off than he was a few seconds ago, at least. "But I can't get up and it's cold down here."

"Okay," Gary said. "I'll get you in a second."

Light, cautious footsteps moved closer to Drew's side and he felt a light nudge. "There you are." Gary lifted Drew onto his feet and the two sat on the bed. "Drew, I can't see a damned thing in here. There's a generator and it should come on in a minute, but it can't happen fast enough."

"Where's your umbreon?" Drew asked. Umbreon's rings weren't the strongest light source, but that was better than pitch darkness.

"The other end of the house, probably," Gary answered. "He'll come in here eventually, he knows he can see better in the dark than we can."

Drew leaned against Gary for warmth. He jumped a little, like he was startled, then relaxed and put an arm around Drew's shoulders.

* * *

Time started to get blurry after a while, so Drew wasn't sure how many days had passed when his fever broke and he started to breathe more easily. He started feeling a lot more like himself once he could stay on his feet long enough for a thorough shower. The snow had stopped coming down so hard and he was ready to get moving again, but Gary wasn't having it.

"Your cough still hasn't gone away," he said as he flipped a pancake with a graceful flick of his wrist. "If you go out in the cold you'll just get sick again, and then you won't have me to look after you."

"You just don't want me to leave you alone with the wild snover," Drew said. He felt awkward just standing and watching Gary cook. "I can help, you know."

"You might still be contagious, Shrub. You're staying where you are, not infecting anyone with your gross germs." Gary looked over at him. "And I'll have you know I was just fine alone with the snover before I had to rescue you from that blizzard."

"You didn't seem too concerned about contagion when you were passed out two inches away from me," Drew pointed out. He didn't remember much through the feverish haze, but he did remember waking to find Gary like that so many times.

"It's not like I could leave you unsupervised when your fever was so high," Gary said. "And any time I got too far away you'd whine at me until I came back."

He did _what?_ Drew didn't think he'd ever been so mortified. "I did _not._"

Gary nodded. "You sure did. It was kind of adorable, honestly. I've never felt so needed."

Well, he was never going to live that down.

Gary finished up with cooking and handed Drew a plate. "Here. You need to get your strength back up before you even think of going anywhere."

Maybe he could stick around a few days longer. "Thank you, Gary," he said earnestly. "For everything."

Gary smiled-the softest, most genuine smile Drew had ever seen from him. "Anyti-" he broke off abruptly as his breath hitched, then sneezed into his elbow.

The boys exchanged a wide-eyed look.


End file.
